And now, for something completely different. You are probably aware of the old adage “The Elephant in the room” to describe a big problem that everyone sees but no-one wants to address, but yesterday I had the opportunity to turn this phrase inside out.

Back in February, I wrote about Lucy the Elephant, at Margate, New Jersey. This week I finally got to meet the huge pachyderm, and she exceeded my expectations!

Lucy is in a wonderful looking condition, ready for her 125th birthday very soon. We climbed the spiral stairs through her left rear leg and entered what I can only describe as The Room in the Elephant. It is a large, splendidly wood-paneled, split-level room with a glass panel in the ceiling which is also the floor of the howdah, above.

Taking the small spiral staircase in her left side we ascended to the howdah on her back and partook of the views of the Jersey Shore from atop the behemoth beast.

In my opinion, this is the sort of place where serious debates should be held and important decisions made, in the style of Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories!